Tag Archives: Philadelphia

It would happen eventually with the Mets, that their vaunted offense would sputter and couldn’t be carried by their pitching.

COLLINS: Bad call costs Mets. (AP)

Logan Verrett, starting in place of Steven Matz, was shelled, and for the third straight game the offense provided little. Together it added up to a 7-4 loss Saturday night to the Colorado Rockies.

The loss, coupled with Philadelphia beating Cincinnati, dropped the Mets into third behind the Phillies. That’s third behind the Phillies.

The Mets were eight games over .500 when they began their season-long 11-game road trip. They close it out Sunday having already lost six games.

Manager Terry Collins insists on saying he has a power-hitting team, but they’ve only scored 29 runs in the ten games so far on this trip and scored three runs or less six times. Add to that Matt Harvey falling deeper into his funk; Matz is ailing; and Bartolo Colon was shelled in his last start.

Jacob deGrom hopes to put the brakes on this slide before the Mets return home to face Washington.

SUMMARY: Verrett was hammered, but by the time the offense showed signs of life in the sixth the hole was too deep.

KEY MOMENT:Catcher Tony Wolters’ two-run double in the third broke the game open. The double came after a controversial call by home plate umpire Carlos Torres that resulted in Collins being ejected. Torres said the ball was tipped, but replays didn’t show it that way.

THUMBS UP: Neil Walker broke out of his slump with three hits, including getting back his home run trot (No. 10). … The Mets had 13 hits, including bunching four together in the sixth. … Another good appearance by Sean Gilmartin. … Ditto for Jim Henderson. … Two hits by David Wright, including a hustle double leading off the seventh.

THUMBS DOWN:Verrett gave up seven runs on ten hits in 2.2 innings. … Mets went 3-for-11 with RISP and left eight. … Only one walk? Hard to believe.

EXTRA INNINGS:Matz might not throw tomorrow. The Mets haven’t said if he’s in or out of the Washington series. … DeGrom is 2-0 lifetime against the Rockies. … Wright could sit Sunday. There’s talk the Mets should drop Wright in the order, but his on-base percentage is a team-high .376.

QUOTEBOOK: “It’s unfair. No reason for it. [The hitter] was heading back to the dugout. [The umpire] said he heard it. You can’t challenge it. … It cost us the game. End of story.” – Collins on the blown call by umpire Torres.

When Madison Bumgarner went against the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard last Sunday it was a fun matchup featuring the established veteran against the promising phenom. However, on this date in 1965, Shea Stadium was the site of an underappreciated pitching duel between two future Hall of Famers, the Mets going with retread Warren Spahn against the Phillies’ Jim Bunning.

SPAHN: A Met for a moment. (TOPPS)

Bunning, who pitched a perfect game against the Mets the previous season at Shea, bested Spahn on a four-hitter, winning 1-0, in a game when both pitchers went the distance in a nifty 1:52. The only run scored that day off Spahn came on Bunning’s homer in the sixth.

Spahn pitched 21 years in the majors (20 with the Milwaukee Braves) and compiled a 363-245 record. Many forget he |was 4-12 for the Mets in 1965 before he was released July 17. He signed with the Giants two days later. Spahn won three games with the Giants and retired after that season.

It is conceivable Spahn might have won 400 games had he not spent three years (1943-45) serving in the military during World War II.

The most Spahn ever made during his career was $73,500 in 1965. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973. Spahn died in 2003 at 82 and is buried in Oklahoma.

Bunning was 18-11 with a 2.48 ERA in 36 games (34 starts) lifetime against the Mets, including 10-6 at Shea.

Bunning went 224-184 in nine seasons with Detroit, six with Philadelphia, two with Pittsburgh and one with the Dodgers. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s Committee in 1996.

The vibe for the Mets will be considerably different tonight against Cincinnati than it was when they left after manager Terry Collins said they faced a must-win situation.

The Mets went 7-2 on this trip, but remember five of those victories came against Philadelphia and Atlanta, teams they are expected to beat, and teams they must prevail against if they are to win the NL East.

Today on the blog I’ll have:

Today In Mets History: Rookie Doc Gooden stuffs Montreal.

A brief on Noah Syndergaard.

Lineups, notes, and of course a wrap of tonight’s game. I’m also working on a piece on strikeouts and hope to have that online either today or tomorrow.

The Mets were once a team built around the power of third baseman David Wright. Injuries sapped his power in recent seasons, and with Michael Conforto seemingly set as the No. 3 hitter, Wright is entrenched hitting second, a position in the order that doesn’t demand a lot of power. And, with Yoenis Cespedes and Lucas Duda batting fourth and fifth, not to mention Curtis Granderson at leadoff, the Mets have sources of power from other than Wright.

So, when he has games such as he did Monday, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say his power is now a bonus. However, how he went deep was what we’ve come to expect from Wright when he’s on his game. When Wright hit a pair of opposite-field homers in Monday night’s 5-2 victory at Philadelphia, it shouldn’t come as a surprise of his power to right field. When Wright is going well, he usually drives the ball to right or up the middle.

“It’s something that when I’m feeling decent up there, I can take a pitch out over the plate in that direction,” Wright said.

In doing so, Wright continued to make Citizen Bank Park his personal playground, hitting .293 with 22 homers and 69 RBI in the Phillies’ home stadium.

“Star players should never surprise you with what they can do,” manager Terry Collins told reporters after the game. “He’s dangerous here. In this ballpark, if he puts a good swing on the ball he can be dangerous.”

And, with the other boppers in the Mets’ lineup, their whole order is dangerous.

Mets Game Wrap

Game: #12 Record: 6-6 Streak: W 2

SUMMARY: Noah Syndergaard struck out eight Phillies – giving him 29 over his first three starts – and backed by the two homers from Wright, and solo drives from Lucas Duda and Neil Walker, the Mets evened their record and have now won three of their last four games on the road.

KEY MOMENT: Back-to-back homers from Duda and Walker broke open the game in the eighth.

THUMBS UP: Asdrubal Cabrera doubled and started a double play in the field. He keeps doing the job. So far, he’s been a big plus. … A scintillating barehand pick-up and throw by Wright to end the third. … Cespedes legged out a triple with two out in the sixth, a sure sign his legs are feeling better. … Duda followed the double with an opposite-field double. … Four homers by Walker already.

THUMBS DOWN: A dozen more strikeouts from Mets’ hitters, including two more from Cespedes, who now has 18 in 12 games with only four walks. The Mets have 98 strikeouts in 12 games (8.16 per game average). … Jeurys Familia was hit hard, but survived the ninth.

EXTRA INNINGS: Great news. Jacob deGrom took his son, Jaxson, home from the hospital. DeGrom will throw a bullpen Tuesday and could pitch in Atlanta this weekend. … Kevin Plawecki started behind the plate. Collins said d’Arnaud could be available Tuesday. …

QUOTEBOOK:“He’s gotten so good, so fast, that it is remarkable,” – Collins on Syndergaard.

BY THE NUMBERS: 11: Mets’ homers in their last four games.

NEXT FOR METS: Logan Verrett starts Tuesday night against the Phillies’ Vince Velasquez.

Steven Matz came through with a performance both he and the Mets needed. After not making it out of the second inning in his season debut last week against the Marlins, Matz stifled the Indians with seven scoreless innings and nine strikeouts.

Matz showed us exactly what the fuss about him has been all about. He rebounded from what could have been a demoralizing start to up come with the Mets’ most important start of this young season.

MATZ: A stud today. (AP)

Manager Terry Collins said it was a game both Matz and the Mets needed.

“It was a great start,” Collins told reporters. “We needed a big start. It was something both of us needed. He showed us what he can do. I thought he pitched a great game.”

Matz’s 94-pitch effort was good for his psyche, but in the wake of Matt Harvey’s poor start and the uncertainty of Jacob deGrom’s immediate availability, not to mention how much the bullpen has been used lately, his response might represent the Mets’ most important start.

Matz was in command from start to finish and never seriously threatened. In just his eighth career regular-season start, Matz showed us why the Mets so highly regard the left-handers’ future.

What I liked best was when Collins could have pulled him after the sixth, he sent him back out for one more inning. He could have gone eight.

“I was attacking the hitters not pitching scared,” Matz said. “I was trusting my stuff and not trying to nit pick.”

In short, he was a stud today.

METS GAME WRAP

Game: #11 Record: 5-6 Streak: W 1

SUMMARY: By establishing his fastball early, Matz dominated for seven innings, and the Mets put away the game with three runs in both the first and second innings. The game was never in doubt.

KEY MOMENT: After the Mets staked him to a 3-0 lead in the first, Matz set the Indians in the bottom of the inning. The Mets, aided by Indians center fielder Rajai Davis’ two misplays in the sun, scored three more in the second.

THUMBS UP: The Mets went 5-for-7 with runners in scoring position and scored four of their six runs with two outs. … Mets pitchers struck out 15. … Addison Reed and Hansel Robles were strong in relief. … Kevin Plawecki had two hits. … Curtis Granderson’s selectivity continues to improve. … Asdrubal Cabrera bunted home a run in the second and makes all the plays at shortstop. … Lucas Duda’s two-run single. … Michael Conforto keeps raking with two more doubles. Collins said Conforto would stay in the No. 3 hole for a while, except against lefties.

THUMBS DOWN: Ten more strikeouts by Mets’ hitters, including two more from Yoenis Cespedes.

EXTRA INNINGS: Very positive news about Jacob deGrom’s baby. Collins said the couple hopes to take the baby home Monday. … David Wright had the day off as did Travis d’Arnaud. The latter, who has a bruised left forearm, is expected to sit again Monday in Philadelphia.

QUOTEBOOK: “He’ll wind up hitting there one of these days full time.” – Collins on Conforto hitting in the No. 3 hole.

BY THE NUMBERS: 7.27: Matz’s ERA. It was 37.80 at the start of the game.